Gavin DeGraw declared that he doesn’t give a "f***" about critics while performing at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire on Saturday (20.05.17).
The 40-year-old singer/songwriter brought his 2017 ‘An Acoustic Evening with Gavin DeGraw’ tour to the British capital and indulged his fans with his greatest hits such as ‘Not Over You’ and ‘Chariot’ as well as brand new never-heard-before tracks.
The tour is in support of his fifth studio album ‘Something Worth Saving’, which was released in September 2016 through RCA Records, and includes his latest hit ‘She Sets The City On Fire’.
From the start, Gavin thrilled the audience with his powerful and emotive songs.
The star demonstrated that he was born for the stage as he not only impressed his fans with his effortless piano playing and soulful voice, but also his entertainer qualities as he repeatedly brought the crowd to cheer and sing along with him.
However, as the Billboard Music Award nominee shared, his latest LP wasn’t exactly met with enthusiasm among his friends.
He said: "When I finished the record, I called a friend of mine and I said, ‘Hey, I just finished my record.’
"And she said to me, ‘Oh great, what are you gonna call it?’
"I said, ‘Well, I wrote a song on the album and I really like the title.
She said, ‘Hey Gavin, you know what critics are?’ I said ‘Yeah, I know what critics are’.
"She said, ‘If I’m a critic and you name your record ‘Something Worth Saving’ and I don’t like your record, what do you think I look on?’
I said ‘I don’t know. What are you gonna call it?’
"She said ‘Something Worth Throwing Away’. So I said ‘Maybe that’s me.’
"She said ‘The critics, Gavin, it’s what they do. The critics, you understand?’ I said, ‘Well, I write my songs for my audience and for myself, I don’t write for them. F*** them.’"
Gavin finished his show with his 2003 hit single ‘I Don’t Wanna Be’ which appeared on his debut album ‘Chariot’ and was chosen as the theme tune for the long-running TV drama ‘One Tree Hill’. The track – which reached number 27 in the official UK charts – deals with Gavin’s upbringing in the small town South Fallsburg, New York.
He shared: "So this song is about my life. I come from a rough little town west of New York and my father was a prison guard and my mother was a detox specialist. But this song here, this song paid off all my college loans, so I’m not angry anymore."
Gavin DeGraw: I don’t care about critics
